Ep. 34: A Prickly Maiden Hunt
A Prickly Maiden Hunt is the thirty-fourth episode of Gosei Sentai Dairanger. Synopsis Daigo becomes involved with a Gorma Minion abducting young girls when he discovers its connection with a mystery girl and a cactus he cared for. Plot A car arrives at a gas station as they're met by a large-set man in glasses and military fatigue wiping off the sweat; the man in the car states it's been hot while the attendant admires the little girl The man states he wants to use the restroom which the attendant asks while the large man tells the girl to play with him pulling her out of the car; the man grabs her back and calls the attendant a creep; but he picks the man up before throwing him down, turning into a Gorma Minion named General Cactus and firing needles into his back, making him fall as his daughter cries out. The Dairanger are driving in a Jeep singing when they see the man stagger towards them stating his daughter is in the gas station; Daigo is asked to go there while the others watch the man. Entering the shop, Daigo sees several female dolls and a girl on the floor stabbed by cactus needles. He then finds a cactus which he realizes was a cactus from his shop, wondering where it came from! Recalling, Daigo remembered this cactus being found by him on a cold winter night; he heard someone state it was cold as he saw the vision of a girl, but she vanished and Daigo searched the nearby trash where he saw a cactus freezing to death due to not being wanted. The girl from the vision states that the cactus blossoms with pretty flowers; Daigo asks who she is and she calls herself Michiru but she vanishes before he can introduce himself. The girl reappears asking if he likes cactuses; Daigo states he likes plants and animals and everything on Earth; all life is precious. The girl states he has a kind heart and he states he'll make the cactus blossom as she thanks him on behalf of the cactus before vanishing once again. Daigo takes the plant back to his apartment and over time tended to it as it came back to life before eventually in spring, the pot with the cactus disappeared. Without warning, the girl reappears once again across the street shocking Daigo as he runs to Michiru but he keeps trying to keep up as she keeps appearing and reappearing at will. Nearby, Gara appears with a suitcase in her hand as General Cactus tends to several girls dressed in fancy dress an curls before cuddling his favorite. Reaching General Cactus, Gara tells him to carry his mission out and stop playing around with these things as an order but the general states to not push him and be so prickly as his plan is already in motion. In the quarry, Daigo continues to chase Michiru as he discovers multiple dolls around construction equipment; approaching them, the dolls begin to attack with swords and other weapons as Shishiranger tries to protect himself and is thrown down a cliff before discovering the cactus on a table. But without warning, General Cactus appears stating he likes plants and animals; but he is grateful that Daigo was able to save this withering cactus. However he believes that Daigo's sweet heart will cost his heart, making Michiru suddenly before him and cuddling her! With Daigo shocked, General Cactus asks if he wants to know what the girl is; then tells Michiru to tell him that she's a succulent cactus who loves him; the cactus asking for forgiveness before he transforms for attack. He introduces himself as the strongest Gorma soldier and showing his medals for bravery for his ability. Daigo doesn't care and leaps towards the Gorma Minion while transforming; but forcing him into the Attack Needles; Michiru runs to him but General Cactus throws more Attack Needles into her back! Daigo pulls the needles out and runs to Michiru trying to pull out her needles and to tell her to hold on; but she asks for forgiveness and that she was forced to do this before revealing that the kidnapped girls were turned into dolls and asking him to save them before dying. Gara soon appears with a Yo Whip grabbing the cactus and smashing it in it's pot, making the female vanish and the cactus fall to the ground. The Gorma general can't believe in the foolishness of mortals with their carbon dioxide and pollutant gases ruining the planet with the greenhouse effect and that the green plants will die out and the planet will become a world of red plants which the Gorma will exterminate with humanity before stomping on the cactus. Daigo curses Gara for doing this to Michiru by transforming and shooting the Dai Buster but being blocked by her hand as the general curses him to hell as she vanishes and releases a field of red cactuses which spew gas and drops Shishiranger down. General Cactus summons a squad of Cotporos who throw parasols at him forcing him to contact the other Dairanger as they rush to his aid and force him to combat them before they transform to join the battle. The Dairanger fight off the Cotporos with their various weapons and abilities before confronting General Cactus, who uses his Super Cactus Flamethrower in his head to attack the team before laughing manically. Daigo tells the team to save the girls as he deals with General Cactus; the other Dairanger encounter the doll brigade but Rin uses her Straight Line Tornado to deal with them as they rush to save the transformed females. Shishiranger fights General Cactus with his Dairen Rod; as a sword falls, the two rush each other and fight one another; the Gorma Minion uses his Cactus Counterattack to stab Shishiranger with needles making him fall to the ground as he asks how much it hurts. Using his Qi, Daigo covers himself removing the needles from his body before using Heavenly Phantom Star Mist Hiding, Illusion Tank to attack General Cactus before the other Dairanger appear and the team uses the Super Qiryoku Bazooka destroying it as it uses an Enlargement Bomb to save himself. Kibaranger appears with Byakko apologizing for being late as the team summons their Mythical Qi Beasts forming Ryuseioh and Won Tiger. The Super Cactus Flamethrower is used knocking the two back as Kiba Daioh is created by Kou; General Cactus uses Cactus Bombs but the Dairanger use Qi to reverse the attack and hit the Gorma Minion before finishing it with the Flying Light Sword. Daigo returns to the quarry where he discovers the dead cactus crying over Michiru as he sees a vision of her riding away on a truck. Calling for Michiru, she tells him to defeat the Gorma due to how they make the people suffer as she says a final goodbye. The Dairanger soon ride off on their jeep as Kaku states that the kindness in his heart defeated the evil of the Gorma as new cactus are seen growing nearby. Cast * : * : * : * : * : * : * : * : Guest Cast * : *Michiru: *Girl: *Father: Notes *'Viewership': 7.1% *'Eyecatch' **'Featured Dairanger (Pre-Break):' ShishiRanger **'Featured Dairanger (Post-Break):' ShishiRanger *This is the only Daigo-based episode to not feature Kujaku since her first appearance in Episode 9. *Kou doesn't appear out of suit again until Episode 37. *The sequence where the monster's attack bounces off Kibadaioh, was edited for Power Rangers to show a red forcefield in front of the robot. DVD Releases *''Gosei Sentai Dairanger'' Volume 4 features episodes 31-40.http://www.toei-video.co.jp/DVD/dairenger.html *The complete Dairanger series was released in North America by Shout! Factory in 2015. See Also References Category:Gosei Sentai Dairanger Category:Sentai episodes Category:Written by Susumu Takaku